Aliter in Apro III (Wild Boar, Another Way III)

Aliter in Apro (Wild Boar, Another Way) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic sauce of spices and herbs made with stock, wine and passum that's thickened with starch and used to coat cooked wild boar before serving. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Wild Boar, Another Way (Aliter in Apro).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

195 minutes

Total Time:

215 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Wild Food Sauce Recipes Spice Recipes Herb Recipes Pork Recipes Game Recipes Ancient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Aliter in Apro (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) VIII, i, 9

Aliter in apro: teres piper, ligusticum, origanum, apii semen, laseris radicem, cuminum, feniculi semen, rutam, liquamen, vinum, passum. facies ut ferveat. cum ferbuerit, amulo obligas. aprum intro foras tanges et inferes.

Translation

Wild Boar, Another Way: Pound pepper, lovage, oregano, celery seeds, laser root, cumin, fennel seed, rue, liquamen, wine and passum. Bring to a boil. When it boils, thicken with starch. Coat the boar inside and out with this sauce and serve.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

2.5kg roast wild boar or pork

For the Sauce:
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 tsp celery seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp dried rue (or rosemary)
2 tbsp liquamen (fish sauce)
200ml pork stock or beef stock
60ml red wine
60ml passum
2 tsp cornflour (wheat starch would originally have been used)

Method:

Prepare the meat for roasting and set in the oven to roast.

About 45 minutes before the meat is due to be ready prepare the sauce. Combine the black pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds, oregano, celery seeds, asafoetida, cumin, fennel seeds and rue in a mortar. Grind finely then blend in the liquamen, red wine and passum.

Scrape the mixture into a pan and whisk in the meat stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavours. Whisk the cornflour with a little water to form a smooth slurry. Whisk this into the sauce, bring to a simmer and cook until thicken.

Either brush this sauce over the meat immediately before serving or use it to baste the meat for the final 30 minutes of the roasting time.
Find more recipes from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria along with information on Apicius and his cookbook, all part of this site's Ancient Roman recipes collection.